Archive for August 2008
why hello again pepper lunch
So my first brush with Pepper Lunch was pretty lackluster. However, I’m an avid reader of Chuvaness (a Filipino blog owned by a stylista and Pepper Lunch owner) and she mentions PL often in her posts. There’s a PL at the basement of Central which I often frequent for quick dinners. I figured, what the hey let’s give it another go.
Maybe I was really hungry. Maybe the proximity to Japan means closer to the original that made it famous. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing the first time. Whatevah. This time around it was deeeelicious. I ordered the first thing on the menu which is the pepper rice with beef.
a little bit of the usa
I don’t always eat rice or noodles. Sometimes the Californian in me needs a salad. It’s about double the regular rice or noodle meal but it’s also light and healthy. This one is from JuiceBar at the Raffles Place MRT.
Look closely. This Shanghai salad has corn, carrots, mushrooms, tofu, chicken…. and RICE. Okay, maybe getting away from rice is a little harder than I make it seem.
tanyoto, another steamboat ride
Next to the Tampopo at Liang Court is Tanyoto. Confusing, I know. Tanyoto is a fancy fancy steamboat place. I didn’t realize how fancy until I agreed to eat there.
We got the ying yang style pot again. On the left is a non-spicy fish based soup. On the right is the common, spicy, date-filled, deep red soup of my last steamboat experience.
Looks pretty much like the last one, eh?
We ordered prawns, beef, enoki mushrooms, and kang kong.
On skewers to make dipping easier and eating harder.
Mushrooms and kang kong. Yippee.
This is the flattest green onion pancake I’ve ever had and also the tastiest. The batter to green onion ratio makes it more flavorful than the doughy kind. All of the edges are nicely crispy too. This was the saving grace of this meal (if you can’t tell).
Bowls of seasoning – chili paste, green onion, cilantro, onion, etc. This looked promising but it’s prepared by adding broth and then using the whole thing to dip your meat or veggies in. What this ish really needed was some freakin’ soy sauce. I found myself hoping that the cilantro would stick to my food better to help with the taste.
I understand now why the last steamboat place was considered to be quite good. The broth at this place tasted frozen. As in, it had this lingering flavor of something that had been frozen before and then cooked before being completely thawed out. I couldn’t tell if it was the broth, the shrimp, or both. I found it off-putting and it made me lose my appetite.
Price of this meal for two people: SGD80+.
Boooo. Don’t like.
first thai, singapore
I requested Thai food on my first day in the Singapore office and the team took me to First Thai. I’ve wanted to go back ever since and we finally rounded up the ol’ gang to enjoy some for dinner last Friday.
Just past the famous Fullerton Hotel tucked away on a side street is First Thai. Unless you’re special they don’t take reservations so come early (for lunch or for dinner). The prices are reasonable and the food is super good. Super good enough for Thai folks to enjoy. Try not to read this post while you’re hungry.
You’ve been warned.
We actually started with the papaya salad but it burnt my tongue off and I forgot to take a picture. What’s above is olive rice. Never heard of it? Me either. It’s very flavorful and probably made with an olive paste. It’s light and the grains separate easily. I love olives and I love rice. Together there is harmony.
thunder tea rice
I’ve had a busy busy weekend punctuated by the surprise visit of my godparents. It was a surprise to both of us actually. They got stranded in Singapore after some plane ticket troubles! Let it be known that should you ever find yourself at Changi Airport wasting away I will be happily swing by and save you. Even if I’m mid-cocktail at IndoChine enjoying some jazz music on a Friday night.
Yah, ok the food.
The other folks at work talk about tea rice like it’s a way of life. Some people have it nearly everyday for lunch. Last Friday I decided it was as good a time as any to jump on the bandwagon. Off to Lau Pa Sat I went to queue up for Thunder Tea Rice.
easily amused
They are pretty serious about chilli here. What goes on a hot dog? Mustard, ketchup, tomato, relish, and onions. Oh and chilli. A LOT of chilli. Not THAT kind of chili with the beans and such. The other kind of chilli. These remind me of milking cows. (Keep your Hanford jokes to yourself.) Good ol’ Ikea.
tampopo, liang court
I pass by this place nearly everyday and always eye the poster size pictures of steaming ramen they have plastered outside. They also have one of those glass cases of shellacked food that Japanese restaurants love so much. After a little pondering, we decided to try it out and make it a ramen night.
Sorry for the bad lighting. I started with the negitoro handroll (toss up between this and unagi but that’s not really news). Nothing to write home about but not bad either. The only part that turned me off a bit were the fingerprints on the little cone holder thing. I hope they wash these suckers before using them. Overall, it hit the spot since I haven’t sushi in about a month which in California terms is pretty scandalous.
$10 japanese grapes
Thiena (the new flatmate) brought these home after a trip to Takashimaya (a big Japanese dept store on Orchard Road). They are $10 Kyoho grapes. My response: DAAAAAAAANG … what kind of grapes are THOSE?
The first bite was strange. They had an almost fermented/wine-like taste to them. They were super juicy with a slightly bitter skin and one single seed. The flesh inside looks like run of the mill grape guts while the skin is a deep, deep purple nearly black color.
After a few more grapes I became a full fledged fan.
I can’t explain it and I don’t want to pay for it but these are the grapiest grapes I’ve ever tasted. They’re like the real, adult version of all of the fake grape candies of the world. They are awesome cold and very refreshing.
Nowadays I find myself in front of the fruit section eyeing these ridiculously priced grapes. Am I balla enough to spare $10 for a mere handful of these babies?
singapore hits and misses: vol 2
Told you I had a backlog. Second verse, same as the first.
HIT: This was one of my first lunches at the office. Crazy monkey rain kept us indoors so we joined about 3000 of our closest friends under the labyrinth of halls, restaurants, and food stalls that make up the Singapore MRT system. Easy, fast, cheap food with no worries of raindrops. This was surprisingly good – lemon chicken with Thai sauce. Despite the color, it’s not as spicy as it looks and the chicken was very, very lemony. Comes with a side of mashed potatoes (yum), apples drenched in mayo (pass), and a fried hard boiled egg with some cream sauce (yes that’s right, it’s hard boiled, breaded, and then fried… weird but not bad).
all aboard the steamboat
Friday evening field trip with the rest of the work gang to try steamboat aka hotpot aka shabu shabu aka cook your food yourself. If I eat at a restaurant, I usually use the name of the place as the title of the post. As you can see by the picture, I have no clue what the name of the place is. (Dear Mandarin lessons: Please Hurry!)
Other than the fact that we were maneuvering through the MRT system at rush hour with about 8 people, the trip to this area of Singapore was pretty easy. It’s easiest to get here via the Bugis MRT station. Bugis Junction will spit you out right onto Liang Seah Street which is chock full of eateries. The part of Beach Road near this area has TONS of steamboat places at differing prices. Browse around a pick a favorite.
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